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22 Wisconsin Hospitals Fined For Violating Emergency Contraception Law

Flickr user Anqa/CC 2.0

Twenty-two Wisconsin hospitals were fined for not complying with a 2008 law on providing emergency contraception.  

The measure requires medical facilities to inform rape victims about “morning-after” contraception, provide the drugs if the patients request it, and train staff in their use.  The Wisconsin State-Journal reports that the Monroe Clinic was fined $2,500 last year for not telling rape victims they could receive emergency contraception.  Hospital Marketing Director Patricia Lawson said this was due to a documentation problem, and the hospital complies with the law.

Memorial Hospital was fined $7,500 in 2015 for violating all three main aspects of the law. CEO Julie Chikowski said the hospital offered emergency contraception at the time, but failed to document it.

Wisconsin has 129 general service hospitals, and of the 22 that were fined, 12 have been cited since 2013.